


A Touch of Class

by ZVArmy



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Drama, F/M, Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 09:21:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18363122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZVArmy/pseuds/ZVArmy
Summary: Lacey Evans has arrived in WWE, intending to bring some class and sophistication to the Mixed Match Challenge. Paired with Seth Rollins, will they make a winning combination?





	1. Chapter 1

"Why did I let Dean talk me into putting my name down for the Mixed Match Challenge?" Seth Rollins muttered to himself. It was a question he had been pondering for a few minutes, sitting at a table by himself in catering, backstage before a Smackdown episode. He could have been home by now if he hadn't signed up for the tournament.

"It'll be a laugh," Dean had said.

Seth had lost track of the amount of times he, Dean and Roman had ended up doing something stupid as a result of one of them, usually Dean, saying that particular sentence. But then, maybe Dean was right, Seth considered. Depending on who he ended up partnered with, maybe it would be a laugh. Someone like Bayley would be a lot of fun to team up with.

Having a laugh wasn't the main reason Seth had put his name down as an entrant, though. What had persuaded him was that the winners of this year's Mixed Match Challenge would receive a shot at their brand's top titles, in Seth's case the Universal Championship. In his opinion, it was long past time that he held that particular championship, and if this was the way he had to go about getting the shot, he was prepared to do it.

Dean re-entered catering, walking with a swagger and wearing a smug grin on his face. He looked pleased with himself, and that meant he was happy with the partner he had been given for the tournament. That was where he had been for the past few minutes, in Shane McMahon's office, where people were being told who they had been assigned to work with.

"Come on then, who you got?" Seth asked his brother as he neared the table.

"Guess," Dean said, slumping back onto the chair he had recently vacated. He took a glance at his coffee cup, reminding himself that he had already emptied it before leaving the table.

"Rousey," Seth said, with no rhyme or reason behind the guess.

"I wish. You could hand us the trophy now," Dean said.

"Alright then, who is it?"

"Bliss," Dean said, his smile broadening.

"Very nice," Seth opined. Who wouldn't want to team with Alexa Bliss? Not only was she a former Women's Champion on both Raw and Smackdown, she was incredibly beautiful, and had a lot of sass about her, which Seth liked.

"That's what I thought," Dean said. "What do you say to fifty bucks on which one of us hits our partner first?"

"No bet," Seth said, waving him off. "I don't even know who I've got yet, and you want me to commit to trying to get them in the sack. Besides, what if it's Sonya?"

"Then you would automatically lose the bet. Alright, have it your way, you can find out who your partner is before we bet. You'd better move your ass too, because you're next up."

"You might have opened with that," Seth said in annoyance as he got up from the table. Keeping any member of the McMahon family waiting was never a good idea. Even if Shane was the most relaxed of the bunch, it was still a relative thing.

"I hope you get Lana," Dean said as a parting shot.

"Only wrestlers were allowed to register," Seth countered, making Dean laugh loudly at the savage humour.

Quickly leaving catering to get to Shane's office, the first people Seth encountered in the hallway were Lana herself and her husband Rusev.

"You're in the Mixed Match Challenge," Lana said in a combative tone. "You won't win, because Rusev and I are in it."

Seth didn't dignify her by stopping walking. "You forgot your Russian accent again," he pointed out on his way by, smiling to himself.

Only a short distance along the hallway was the door bearing a plaque with Shane McMahon's name on it. Seth knocked confidently on it before opening it and walking in. He nearly had to do a double take at the sight that met him. Standing there talking to Shane was a blonde woman who was dressed like a modern day Scarlett O'Hara. She had a yellow hat on, with a black bow around it, with a classy black top and yellow skirt. The look was completed with black velvet gloves and a black hand fan, with which she was fanning herself as Seth entered the office. Upon seeing him walk in, a look appeared on her face that told him she didn't like what she saw. Even so, his first impression was that she was strikingly beautiful.

"Ah, Seth," Shane said pleasantly. "Allow me to introduce you to Lacey Evans. She's just signed for WWE, and she's going to be your partner in the Mixed Match Challenge."

"Well I say, Mr McMahon, I'm highly disappointed by your selection," Lacey said, turning her look of disgust in his direction. She spoke in an incredibly well spoken southern accent. Seth found it remarkable, and quite attractive, if he was honest. Her personality, on the other hand, didn't seem attractive in the least so far.

"Seth's a former Money in the Bank winner, and a former WWE Champion," Shane advised her.

"And the architect of The Shield," Seth added.

"Mr… Sorry, I didn't get your name," Lacey said, making it perfectly clear that the name was of no particular interest.

"Rollins," Seth clarified, trying not to snark back at her already, only a minute after meeting her.

"Mr Rollins, the only time I would need an architect is to design me a new home in South Carolina. What I expected to find in a tag team partner was someone classy; someone sophisticated; someone who knows how to dress. I mean, what are those things?" she asked, daintily pointing a finger at his pants.

"Sweat pants," Seth said, looking down at them.

"Sweat pants," Lacey repeated, as if the words tasted like dog crap in her mouth. "Mr Rollins, I wouldn't let someone into my home dressed like that."

"Then it's a good job I'm not coming to your home," Seth said. "What I'm doing, apparently, is wrestling with you." As he said it, he decided it might be easier to back out and try to get a title match some other way. He looked at Shane and added, "Unless I can back out. I'm not really feeling it."

"Not a chance," Shane said firmly. "You put your name down for this tournament, now you're in it. Like it or not, you will be a part of the first round, which starts next week. And this year there are Mixed Match challenge warm up matches at live events too, so you'll be teaming with Ms Evans from now on. And you know what that means."

Seth tried not to cringe too visibly. In WWE, teammates were expected to travel together. Usually that wasn't an issue because tag team partners liked each other. By the look of it, this situation was going to be different.

"Mr McMahon, I'm not sure if a lady like me should be travelling with a nasty like him," Lacey drawled, standing with a hand on her hip and the beginnings of a pout on her face.

"What did you call me?" Seth asked her, bristling a bit at the insult.

"I called you a nasty," Lacey said unrepentantly. "You're not the only one. The place is full of them, based on what I've seen so far."

"I'm just going to break it to you, you seem pretty nasty yourself," Seth snapped, having reached the end of his rope. To his surprise, he saw Ms Evans' expression soften a little, rather than becoming even more contemptuous.

"A man with a spine after all," Lacey drawled, seeming a little impressed for the first time. "Maybe I can work with you, Mr Rollins."

"Stop calling me Mr Rollins. The last person who did that was Mrs Martin, my kindergarten teacher. My name is Seth."

"Look, can the two of you take this argument or whatever it is elsewhere?" Shane said, now tiring of both of them.

"After you, my lady," Seth said, bowing courteously to Lacey. His sarcasm could not have been more obvious.

"That kind of behaviour doesn't become you," Lacey said, walking past him to the door.

Seth had to try not to laugh at the way she walked, teetering along on her high heels and fanning herself. Was this woman actually from the 1950s? Had someone discovered the secret of time travel? It seemed like the only explanation for what he was witnessing.

Following Lacey out of the office, Seth took a moment to compose himself. She was not the partner he would have chosen by any means, but she was a partner nonetheless. Who knew, against the odds, she might be a good wrestler. If she was, they might have a chance of winning the Mixed Match Challenge. For that to happen, they had to get past the bad introduction. The ice had to be broken between them.

"Ms Evans," he began, feeling compelled to address her formally. "I think maybe we got off on the wrong foot. We're going to be partners in the tournament, and we're going to have to travel together. We should try our best to make it work."

"I agree," Lacey said simply.

"Okay, great. So, uh, what made you sign for WWE? Wrestling seems like an odd career choice for a lady like yourself."

Lacey smiled, but Seth still didn't feel like she meant it. "Seth, I am a classy, sassy southern belle. I have come here to make women's wrestling better, and the best way to do that is by being Women's Champion. I can take care of any woman in a wrestling ring, so you do your part and I will do mine."

"Fair enough," Seth said, trying to be positive. "Since you're new here, how about I show you around?"

"That would be kind of you," Lacey said, convincing him that she was genuine for the first time.

"We can start with catering. This way." Seth set off in that direction, with Lacey gracefully walking along beside him, drawing curious glances from the backstage crew members they passed by.

"What is the food like here?" Lacey asked. "I do hope it's not the characterless, tasteless muck I've had to experience in other companies."

"No, the food is really good here," Seth said. "WWE hire the best catering companies out there."

"That's good. I would hate to have to lower my standards," Lacey said.

"Yes, I'm getting that vibe quite clearly," Seth said dryly.

They entered catering. As they did so, it occurred to Seth that Lacey was about to meet Dean. The mere idea of it almost made him laugh out loud. If she found a pair of sweat pants distasteful, she had seen nothing yet. "I want to introduce you to someone," he said, making a beeline for where Dean was lounging in his chair. As always, his hair was a mess, and even better he had gone and got another coffee while Seth had been away, and had managed to spill some of it on the table.

As they neared the table, Dean sensed someone approaching them and turned to look in their direction. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Lacey walking with Seth. It was no wonder, given her striking appearance.

"Dean, let me to introduce my Mixed Match Challenge partner, Lacey Evans," Seth said. "She's just signed for WWE. Lacey, this is Dean Ambrose, one of my brothers in The Shield."

Lacey looked horrified by the sight in front of her. "This man is your brother? He doesn't look like your brother."

"It's an expression," Seth informed her.

"What have you come as?" Dean asked Lacey. Seth couldn't stop himself laughing.

"I have 'come as' a classy lady, Mr Ambrose. I'm not surprised you don't understand," Lacey said, talking down to him in a manner that Seth imagined only she was capable of.

"Nah, I prefer a filthy lady," Dean said casually. If he had taken any offense to her comments, he didn't show it. "You any good at wrestling, or do you just prance around the place like something out of a bad world war movie?"

"You'll be surprised how well I can wrestle," Lacey said. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go and see if the coffee is acceptable."

Neither man said anything for a moment while Lacey walked away, casting a disapproving glance in the direction of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay as she walked by their table.

"Where the hell did you find her?" Dean asked Seth once the coast was clear.

"Dude, don't ask me. I walked into Shane's office and she was there. And he said that we're expected to travel together now that we're a team."

Dean roared with laughter. "He said that to me about Bliss, too. Well, good look with yours. I much prefer mine. Speaking of, is the bet on or not?"

Seth had forgotten all about the proposed bet regarding who could sleep with their partner first. As obnoxious and aloof as Lacey was, there was something about her manner that made him desire her. It probably helped that even with her weird dress sense, she was gorgeous. To hell with it, he decided, he would take the bet.

"Alright, you're on," he said, extending his hand.

"Easiest fifty I'm ever going to make," Dean said giving him a firm handshake. "Little Miss Bliss is going to love her some Deano, and there's no way that prissy thing you walked in here with is going to put out."

"We'll see about that," Seth said, doing his best to sound confident.


	2. Chapter 2

What a weird night it had been, Seth thought. He had gone into it looking at the Mixed Match Challenge as something that might be a laugh, maybe a bit of fun, and if his team ended up going a long way, it could present a chance to win himself a Universal Championship shot. Now though, he felt differently about it, thanks to Lacey Evans.

It was perfectly clear that having fun was not part of Ms Evans agenda in WWE. While Seth had shown her around backstage, Lacey had daintily walked beside him with a look on her face that conveyed disapproval with everyone and everything she saw. Her high standards had apparently not been met at any point.

Her aloof attitude had continued while the Smackdown episode had been taking place. For some inexplicable reason, Seth had offered to sit and watch it with her. They had found a quiet room and sat in front of a monitor throughout the whole show, with the conversation between them remaining strictly on the in-ring action.

"Well, Seth, I do declare that I'm highly unimpressed with what I've seen," Lacey had drawled in her well-spoken southern accent as the main event came to a conclusion. "I don't think we should have much trouble beating these people, and bringing some class to WWE in the process."

"We? You think I'm going to bring class?" Seth had asked innocently, taking the opportunity to try and needle her.

Lacey had studiously looked at him for a moment before her bright red lips had curved into a hint of a smile. "We'll work on that."

Seth had immediately wondered what his supposedly smart comment had landed him in for.

With the show over with, it was time for them to leave. As decreed by Shane McMahon, and in accordance with longstanding WWE convention, Seth and Lacey were required to travel together now that they were teammates.

"Do you have a hire car?" Seth asked her as they prepared to leave. Because they hadn't been competing, neither of them had any reason to go to the locker rooms before taking off. "I came here with Dean, so if you're not driving either we might have a bit of a problem," he explained.

"No, I don't have a hire car," Lacey said, finding the suggestion contemptible. "I drive my own car whenever I can."

"That won't be very often," Seth informed her. "Often, you'll have to fly to get from place to place now that you're in WWE. We work quite the hectic schedule."

"Then I shall fly first class," she said firmly. "Are you ready to leave, or are we staying here all night?"

"Lead the way, my lady," Seth said with theatrical graciousness.

Before long, they were walking into the parking garage. Seth spotted Lacey's car straight away. Parked on its own, off to one side of the garage, was a light blue 1950's style Chevrolet. It looked to be in mint condition, but even so it didn't appeal to Seth. He was used to traveling in modern luxury cars.

"My car is over here," Lacey said proudly.

Despite her less than pleasant attitude for most of the night, Seth didn't have the heart to offend her by talking down her ride. He walked slightly behind her across the garage, taking a look at her shapely legs. Weird dress sense and caustic temperament notwithstanding, she was a seriously sexy lady.

Thinking that reminded Seth of his bet with Dean. The money at stake was almost irrelevant. It was a battle of male pride to see which one of them could get their Mixed Match Challenge partner into bed first.

Seth began to picture what Lacey would look like naked, riding him. He wondered if the classy lady in public could be dirty in the bedroom. He found the thought quite a turn on.

"My, you are ignorant," Lacey said haughtily.

Startled, Seth realised that he had been so engrossed in thinking about her in a state of undress that he had blanked out something she had said to him. "Sorry, what was that?" he asked.

"I asked where you are staying tonight. It's all well and good for us to say we will travel together, what if we're not going to the same hotel?"

Seth named his hotel and said, "I bet you're there too? It's the closest nice hotel to the arena we'll be working at tomorrow."

"Actually, I am," Lacey said as she unlocked the driver's door. She had to get in and reach over to unlock Seth's door before he could open it.

Getting into the car, Seth was greeted with the smell of her perfume. She must have put so much on that morning that it had filled the car, and was still lingering. He found it quite intoxicating, in a good way.

Saying nothing, Lacey started the car. Although it was an old model, Seth discovered that it had been fitted with a CD player which started up along with the car. It began playing some 1940s or 50s song that Seth had never heard before. He sighed inwardly, figuring that he was in for a night of that. In this car, with that soundtrack, next to this woman, was about the worst fit for Seth Rollins that he could possibly imagine.

As Lacey pulled out of the garage onto the street, she seemed content to hum along to the music. Seth sat back in his seat and studied her without letting on that he was doing it. Her shapely legs worked the pedals and her velvet gloved hands turned the steering wheel. Her arms were surprisingly muscular for such a glamorous lady, he noticed. But then, she was a wrestler. It was hard for Seth to even picture that, having only ever seen her in the outfit she currently had on.

"We should come up with a gimmick for our team. And a name," Lacey said.

Seth smiled, happy with her genuine interest in the team. Although they hadn't really connected in conversation, it did feel like the ice was thawing between them.

"Good idea," Seth replied. He decided to add some humour. "Let me guess, this is going to involve me dressing up smartly?"

Pulling up at a red light, Lacey looked at him for a moment. She seemed to be scrutinising him. "It wouldn't hurt you to dress with a bit more sophistication, at least when we're on television," she drawled. "You wouldn't even need much work to look like a gentleman."

Seth laughed. "Was there a compliment in there somewhere?"

The light turned green and Lacey got them moving again. "Maybe you're not a nasty," she opined. "Maybe you just need the influence of a lady."

"The influence of a lady," Seth repeated, pondering it. He decided to hell with it, if she wanted to be forward with him like that, he would be forward as well. "Okay, fine. I'll dress smartly when we're on TV together. But in return you have to come to dinner with me."

"Excuse me?" Lacey exclaimed, glancing at him for a moment with wide eyes. "Are you asking me on a date, Mr Rollins?"

Based on her less than positive reaction, Seth decided to dial it back a little. "No, Ms Evans, I'm asking you to share a dinner table with me. We've both got to eat something, and I feel like more time to get to know each other would be a good thing. Let's not forget we'll be wrestling together as a team tomorrow night."

Lacey considered that for a moment. "You make good points. Okay, we can have dinner together, but it will not be a date."

Grinning to himself, Seth said, "Okay then, we're on the same page. I'll look forward to our dinner that isn't a date."

* * *

Prior to dinner, which to Seth's surprise Lacey had agreed to have in the hotel's restaurant, they had checked into their rooms and fixed a time to meet back down in the lobby.

Personally, Seth hadn't needed anything like the amount of time Lacey had requested before meeting back up with her. With time to kill after getting changed into a light blue shirt and a pair of black pants, he lay on the bed and called Dean.

After a few rings, Dean answered the call. "Hey, man."

"What's up," Seth said. "How are you getting on with Alexa?"

"I'm in my room already," Dean reported. "And thank fuck. My god, that girl is as big headed as she is sexy. All I've heard all night is how lucky I am to be teaming with her; how she would have won the Mixed Match Challenge last year if Strowman didn't let her down; how underestimated she is as a wrestler. I thought about getting out of the car while we were doing sixty."

Seth laughed loudly. As funny as the story was, he was glad that things were not working out for Dean and Alexa. A bet was a bet, and Seth wanted to win it.

"What about you? Have you killed Marilyn Monroe yet?"

"No. Actually I'm taking her to dinner tonight," Seth said casually. Luckily, Dean couldn't see the fact that he was grinning like an idiot at the way his news would be intentionally misinterpreted.

"Bullshit," Dean accused.

"Not bullshit," Seth countered. "I'm telling you, I'm taking Lacey to dinner tonight. She's gone to her room to get ready. I'm killing time before going down to meet her."

"Damn, you really do move fast," Dean said.

"You're going to have to up your game, dude. I'm going to beat you easily at this rate."

"So it seems," Dean replied, not sounding overly thrilled about it. "So what's Lacey's story, apart from thinking she's superior to everybody else in the world?"

"Honestly, I don't know yet. But while we were driving here I seemed to cut through some of the attitude, and she wasn't that bad." He had emphasised the word that, to imply that she was still full of herself, just not to the extent it had initially appeared.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Dean said dismissively. "The way she walked around all night with that condescending look on her face, I wanted one of the girls to give her a slap."

"Condescending?" Seth said. "That's a big word for you."

"I can do joined up writing too," Dean fired back. "Anyway, I'm going to let you go. After having Lexi in my ear all the way here, I'm going down to the bar."

"Oh, it's Lexi now?" Seth said, putting an exclamation on it to imply intimacy on Dean's behalf.

"Yes, she let me shorten her name. I'll be banging her before we know it," Dean said dryly. "Right, I'm going. There's a beer with my name on it downstairs."

Knowing that they were staying in the same hotel, Seth had a warning to deliver before the call was over. "I don't want to see you in that restaurant tonight while I'm in there with Lacey. Ruining my first date with her voids the bet."

Dean laughed. "You won't need me to ruin the date. You'll do that yourself as soon as you open your boring mouth."

"Savage," Seth said before ending the call, cutting Dean off before he could say anything else.

Chuckling to himself at the banter they had just had, Seth got up off the bed and went into the bathroom to check his appearance in the mirror. He would do, he decided, for a date that wasn't a date.

Next, he found himself wondering what outfit Lacey would show up in. Something glamorous, he was sure. He wondered if he would come to like the vintage styles she wore. He supposed that, much like everything else in their newfound relationship, whether it was just business or more, it would depend on how things went over the upcoming meal.


End file.
